Are annual passholders good or bad for the Disney theme parks?

I thought this was a pretty interesting article. It's about Disney, but I can see similarities to Cedar Point.

Don't worry, we'll never be as hardcore as those Disney fans. :)

"It's the squeaky wheel that gets the worm, and the diehards have squeaked a lot."

Doesn't the squeaky wheel get the grease, and the early bird get the worm?

There are a lot of similarities here though. This is why I only take a couple trips a year with other season pass holders, and most of my trips involve going with people who only go once or twice a summer. I let them pick what to do, because I'll get my chances to go and do what I want to do. I also try to not spout off too much knowledge about the park to them, because I'm sure they don't want to hear it. I don't always succeed though :) Good article, and very truthful.

Great article. I too have seen the same thing at CP parks. My biggest fear is they are going to raise the prices here too (5 times is quite a bit!).

Although I don't like the Disney idea of "their own line at city hall to handle complaints." I think right there, Disney brings it upon themselves. Don't sit there and bash these annual passholders if you give them those perks.

Just because I am a season pass holder, doesn't mean I spend less money at the park. We passholders may know better as to where to find the better deal, but I can tell you, I still spend a good deal of my money there.

You are always going to have a bad apple in the bunch, Disney needs to deal with it and shrug it off. If they are so concerned about it, then they should fix the cosmetic problems with the park that "everyday people" see.

After this article, I have even less motivation to go to a Disney themed park. I feel, as a season pass holder to a theme park, that Disney offers this perk to you, but then kicks you in the face cause you want/expect the park to look its best. But over "some paint chips two-stories up", be glad someone saw it and fix the darn paint. BIG DEAL! I know we complained quite a bit about Banshee (Mantis) and they repainted it finally. Sometimes people at the park do depend on our opinions and should be happy someone outside looking in can see this and tell them about it.

I've been to Disney (World) 3 times with an AP, and 8 overall (going on 9, on Thursday). Unfortunately, most of this is true.
Most, but not all, Disney fans notice little things such as chipped paint; and for once, I agree with Jim Hill and think that mentioning these out loud, during/waiting for an attraction, is downright uncourteous.

First-timers shouldn't have to hear just how bad of shape some attractions are in, or the "worst ideas ever to come from WDC" (believe me, I've heard a lot...). Like raptorqueen said, some of you complained about Banshee/Mantis' paint job, and they listened and repainted it. Unfortunately, because Disney has a lot of themeing, more things could go wrong, therefore, there's more to complain about.

Do guest opinions matter? Yes. Will they listen to most? Like most major companies, no. However, if you inundate them with enough guest responses/complaints, they'll take to listening to that issue. Complaining about the small things seems pointless, but that's exactly what Disney can fix up in a jiffy... the small stuff. On larger scales, such as the closing/redoing of an attraction, Disney may listen...or not. Many large issues at WDC are solved-- in time.

All we can do as guests is continue to be guests-- repeat guests, observing guests, guests with a vision to help along the company. Maybe, they might get the message. *** Edited 8/14/2005 8:39:59 PM UTC by Cedar Dan***

It does sound familiar, doesn't it? And the "choking the life out of it" continues. Some don't even know they're doing it - and they're doing it to themselves, making their own experience at the park miserable.

Great article. I do hope more read and understand it, for their own sake. Amusement parks are here to be enjoyed, not dissected.

You have to take the good with the bad. You are going to have the die hards who nitpick about every little detail. Some of it is warranted, like the price for pop, or the MF seatbelt fiasco. That is something that affects many people. Then you have the ones who complain about every little detail, like theming on DT, or paint spots on the ground in Frontier land, trains stacking on MF, or the color of Iron Dragon or Wild Cat. Those are things that the general public probably does not care about. I think the criticism is there only because the die hards care about and love their parks and want everything to be perfect.

I just hope I'm never as bad as the Disney enthusiasts.

I think the article is pretty extreme, actually. If we draw some parallels with Cedar Point..... I know when I go to the park I usually spend some money each visit. Have I gone and not spent a dime? Yes. Have I gone and about cleaned out my checking account and put myself in debt for the next 6 months? Sadly, yes.

When I go to the park, I usually spend money on either food or in the gift shops or what not. Do I spend as much as the average family per visit? No. Do I spend more annually than the family that went once? Yes. By a long shot.

He also complains about how these 'Disney Enthusiasts' suggest to people how to hit all the rides in one day or what not.. but that's what a lot of people want to do. We get questions here on how to hit all the rides in one day, and generally we suggest they take the park in during a 2 day visit at least. But I'm sure people still read how to do all the rides in 1 day, and do it without visiting shows, or enjoying the atmosphere.

I think giving the season pass holders their own little lines to complain in is a bit much. Honestly, I've only been to park ops once this year, and that was to let one of the ride managers know that my restraint was not checked on Power Tower, which I rightfully so viewed as a safety issue. Yes I complain on these boards, but those are still things about the park I would like to see improved.

It's an interesting article, however. I haven't been to any of the Disney Parks in well over 12 years, so I wouldn't know how they compare to the "CP Fan Boys", but it was an interesting article nonetheless.

I didn't know I was complaining about the markings in Frontier Town? (joke)
I think he did overstate parts of the article, but some parts were actually not overstated. Disney does lose quite a bit of money on the pass holders that go like everyday for a few hours because chances are that those guests will spend little to no money during each visit because they aren't there very often. So not only do they lose money on entrance, but they also lose on in-park spending. But for them that can be compared to flys buzzing around a cow's head for the overall bottom line. Now I think giving the pass holders a seperate line for complaints in City Hall is a bit much, but you know, maybe eliminating that would clear up some of this headache. As to the guests that are very openly complaining about chipping paint on a few spuare inches of a building while they are at the park, give it a rest and don't worry about it. I really don't notice complaining when I'm with a group of enthusiasts, I actually notice more of the GP guests complaining than enthusiasts.

Fastball84 said:
I just hope I'm never as bad as the Disney enthusiasts.

Why do you think Disney enthusiasts are worse? The only reason I can think of is complaining about themeing... then again, Disney parks are (or were) supposed to be famous for paying attention to detail.

I spend a little time on the Disney fan sites. Trust me, they are much more "enthusiastic" than we are.

*** Edited 8/15/2005 2:00:22 AM UTC by Walt***

That's gotta be pretty hard to do.

I go to a few Disney sites myself. They want perfection and no excuses for anything other than perfection.

Here is an axample of how they are:

www.d-troops.com

This site not only does full blown articles, but also has a "Bad Show" section. They have pictures and complaints about a spiderwebs in entrances and speakers being visable through some parts of attractions.

I've seen a couple on Coasterbuzz here and there and there bad. I give everyone here permission to virtually slap me if I ever get as bad as some of them. ;)